A FUNDRAISER for a homelessness charity in Boscombe, which involved a group of young musicians performing virtual busking sessions for Advent, has surpassed £1,500.

For the last few years, Katrina Fox, a music teacher based in Muscliff, and her children Corey, 13, and Casia, 12, have busked on the streets of Bournemouth for two days at Christmas to raise money for Michael House.

She said: “Four or five years ago, we saw Mark do a speak at a church service and we were all really taken aback by the work that he and his staff and volunteers do to help change these people’s lives around.

“From then, we decided that we wanted to support Michael House as a family.

“The next Christmas, I got my children to busk on the streets over the Christmas period and for the last couple of years, we have raised a few hundred quid.”

However, as the Covid-19 pandemic and the cold winter tightened its grip, Katrina was forced to thing of different arrangements for December 2020.

Katrina added: “It has got bigger and bigger every year but this year we had to do it slightly different.

“I wasn’t sure about host our usual busking session because of the virus and I didn’t know if many people would be out and about to donate.

“So, this year, we have got everybody involved and we got musicians to upload videos of them performing Christmas songs, one for each day of advent.”

This year, 30 members of her Katrina Fox Piano Studio cohort took part in a month’s worth of online piano performances from the December 1, 2020 until January 1, 2021.

Among the performers were Katrina’s son and daughter, Corey and Casia, who are also Charity Ambassadors for Michael House through their fundraising efforts for the charity.

Having set themselves the target of raising £1,500, Katrina and her group of performers have surpassed their total by amassing £1,569 so far.

“It has gone really well this year; it is nice to actually do something a bit different and help entertain people at home,” said Katrina.

“We raised around £1,500 last year but, for the last few year, we have had to perform through the whole of December with around eight hours of paying each time in the freezing cold, so this year we are having a much warmer time.

“I did think we were going to struggle because the virus has affected a lot of people financially, but the power of social media has helped, and people have been awfully generous in donating to us.”

The money will be used to help homeless individuals at Michael House find emergency and permanent accommodation, as well as providing related day services.

Chief Executive Mark Horsford said: "We're so grateful to the Fox family for their passion and creativity in raising funds in such a difficult time for many, ensuring that we can continue to provide our services to the homeless and vulnerable."